When flowers are blooming and trees are budding, spring is in the air. But for more than 50 million Americans, it also means the return of allergy season.

While Indianapolis may not be one of the worst places to live for people with spring allergies, Hoosiers should still be prepared to wrestle with sneezing, nasal congestion and itchy eyes.

According to The Weather Channel, ragweed pollen, grass pollen and tree pollen are not yet prevalent enough in Indianapolis to cause breathing discomfort. But Dr. Douglas Neeld, an Indianapolis-area allergist with 30 years of experience, said allergy season here.

"It's already started," he said. "It will be low on the (pollen) counts, but all it's going to take is a nice sunny, warm, breezy day and the pollen counts are going to just jump right up."

Tree are starting to pollenate, Neeld said, and will continue to do so into June. Grasses will begin pollenating in May, he said, adding that May and June are when spring allergies are typically at their worst.

"People typically feel it pretty badly in May because there's an overlap of tree pollen, grass pollen and mold," he said.

Here's everything you need to know to survive another allergy season.

How to treat allergies

There is no cure for allergies, but you can manage them. Neeld said there are three ways to combat your allergies: avoidance, medication and immunotherapy.

If you know you suffer from allergies, a smart way to prevent reactions is by avoiding them, Neeld said. Run the air conditioning in your home instead of opening the windows, he suggested — that way, pollen isn't allowed to drift inside.

"As much as you want to open up the house and air it out, it's probably not a good idea," he said.

Medications to treat allergies can come in the form of pills, liquids, nasal sprays or eye drops.

It's important to use allergy medicine correctly, Neelds said. Don't wait until you begin experiencing symptoms to take it — they work best when you start earlier.

"You try to get ahead of the game and you try to take your medicine so that the symptoms don't get so bad to begin with," Neelds said.

Immunotherapy may also be an option for treating your allergies. Allergy shots are the most common and most effective form of allergy immunotherapy, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. They can treat reactions to many allergens, including trees, grass, weeds, mold, house dust, animal dander and insect stings. It is also the only allergy treatment that changes the immune system, and makes it possible to prevent the development of new allergies and asthma.

Neelds said many consider immunotherapy a last-resort option, but said for many people, it should be considered a first step.

"It's the only thing we can do that can change the course of your disease," he said. "Otherwise, it's just symptomatic treatment."

You should think about getting an allergy shot if you take allergy medicine more than six months out of a year, Neelds said.

Seasonal allergy symptoms

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, allergic reactions can cause coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes, a runny nose and a scratchy throat. In severe cases, allergic reactions can cause rashes, hives, low blood pressure, breathing trouble, asthma attacks and even death.

Is it a cold or allergies? How to tell the difference

Allergies and the common cold share some symptoms, and it could be difficult to discern which of the two is making you experience said symptoms. The only way to know for sure if you have allergies, a cold, or both, is to be tested, Neelds said.

"People do themselves a great disservice by just taking medicine for months and sometimes years on end. And they don't know for sure," he said.

"At some point, if you're taking medicine, and you're still not feeling good, you really need to go to a doctor."

Andrew Clark is Facebook editor for IndyStar. Call him at 317-444-6484 or email him at andrew.clark@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Clarky_Tweets.